THE FEDERAL IRON-CLAD DICk TATOR A GIGANTIC FAILURE.

Bruce Herald, Volume II, Issue 49, 16 March 1865, Page 8

THE FEDERAL IRON-CLAD DICk TATOR A GIGANTIC FAILURE.

The New York correspondent of thc^P* ' Standard' writes : — " The most interest- ' ing- topic in naval circles just now is thecomplete and absolute failure of CaptainEricsson's 'iron-clad Dictator. This vessel was to constitute the mainstay of the. United States, should the nation ever become involved in a contest with any other maritime power. Sing-le handed the Dictator was to seek out and destroy theunited navies of England and France, and. dominate the sea. The ludicrous height attained by the boasts in regard to the Dictator has only been equalled by thedepth of humiliation into which theboastei'S have been plunged by the failure of that vessel to accomplish anything-. She can scarcely be movad by her engines, and on her trial trip she was towed out into, the harbor by tug- boats, and then towed, back again. A.ll rules in regard to buo} rancy heretofore observed in the building of t ships have been set at defiance in the conj struction of the Dictator. To begin, a mistake of more than 1000 tons was made in computing the weight of the vessel. It is now discovered that with all her armt^ ment, &c, her top is but. thirteen inch's, out of the water. Another tremendous, blunder was made with regard to her Journals. They have been constructed with no greater surface than those of our ordinary " Sound" steamers of 500 horsei power, while the engines of the Dictator I are of 6000 horse-power. As a consequence, from the immense pressure and great friction, the journals of this remark--able iron-clad soon became red hot, even, when very moderate power is put in motion; and it is believed that ii the full strength of her engines were employed, in the language of one of the engineers em-, ployed in the construction of the vessel, ' her journals would melt and- run like water.' In short, the Dictator (and, of course, her consort, the Puritan, which is built on the same plan) is a total failure,, so that 2,000,000d01v have been wasted in. a vain experiment. It is a painful fact foran American to acknowledge ; but thetruth is, we are, after three years of ex^perimenting 1 , fussing, and boasting-, wijjj^ out aja iron-clad navy,."